Seismic Shocks and Urban Risks: Learning from Regional Earthquakes to Build a Safer Resilient Delhi

This book explores Delhi's seismic vulnerabilities by analysing recent regional earthquakes particularly the 7.7-magnitude Myanmar-Thailand earthquake of March 28 2025 which highlighted the dangers of tectonic activity weak infrastructure and poor governance. Located in high-risk Seismic Zone IV near the Himalayan fault system Delhi faces severe risks due to its dense population unregulated construction aging buildings soft soil zones and lax enforcement of seismic codes. Drawing lessons from regional cases like Myanmar’s devastating losses Bangkok’s structural failures Nepal’s challenges and Japan’s resilience the book underscores the value of regional learning to enhance local safety. It proposes actionable strategies for Delhi including stricter building code enforcement retrofitting early warning systems public awareness and cross-border cooperation. Advocating a paradigm shift in urban planning and disaster management the book emphasizes bridging policy-practice gaps to build a resilient Delhi framing resilience as a technical policy and moral imperative to safeguard millions of lives in the face of inevitable seismic threats.